Now synonymous with Toronto, Vladdy ready to lead Blue Jays into new era
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TORONTO -- When Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walks through the door or climbs those dugout steps and runs onto the field, don’t look at how he moves through the world. Instead, watch how the world moves around him.
This city belongs to Guerrero now. Every room he walks into accepts his gravity. Seas part in front of him wherever he walks while every head turns in his direction. There is no more debating this, only accepting it.
This is Guerrero’s city, Guerrero’s stadium and Guerrero’s franchise. We’ve all known this, or at least felt it coming for years, but now Guerrero knows it, too. Everyone around him is starting to sense the power of this realization.
“He knows that he’s who everyone looks at,” Kevin Gausman said on the eve of Opening Day. “Last year in the postseason, a quote came out from him before Game 6 saying, ‘If you’re nervous, look at me.’ He’s the guy who doesn’t get nervous. He understands that he’s the guy here. He’s who everybody thinks of. Every time I meet someone who’s a Blue Jays fan or a fan of baseball, the first thing they ask me is ‘What’s Vladdy like?’... and he’s great. He checks every box you could imagine.”
Sitting on that podium Thursday afternoon, Gausman just kept going. It was one of the most meaningful statements a Blue Jays player has made about a teammate in this era.
“I think Vladdy is the perfect franchise player, to be honest,” Gausman said. “He does everything the right way. He engages with fans. He loves playing baseball. If you watch him play, it’s every pitch. He enjoys every single aspect of the game.”
This is what those close to Guerrero keep coming back to. Not his incredible exit velocities, his famous last name, his $500 million contract or any statistic. No, it’s his joy. Guerrero’s game is a celebration of itself. It’s loud and colorful, enchanting and contagious.
If Guerrero were to put up these exact same numbers with a straight face, they wouldn’t matter as much. Being the face of the franchise demands more of a player, or at least different things. We never saw how quickly Derek Jeter could shake his hips from side to side after a double, and that worked for him. The fullest version of Guerrero is a party, though, which is what everyone around him needs Vladdy to be.
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“He reminds me of growing up around Kirby Puckett,” said Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro. “Their farm director, Jim Rance, once told me that Kirby made it better for every single person to come to the ballpark, whether it was the equipment manager, the groundskeeper or the starting third baseman. Every single person enjoyed coming more because of Kirby. He had that energy. Vladdy has that same joyful exuberance, that love of the game and joy in playing the game.”
Last season, Guerrero was … fine. The 23 home runs and .848 OPS were, by his standards, just fine. Then came the postseason run, where Guerrero hit eight home runs with a 1.289 OPS over 18 games, one of the greatest performances in franchise history.
We know that’s in there now. So does Guerrero.
“There was a different way about him, a different confidence about him, and that’s carried over into this year,” said manager John Schneider. “He knows how good he is. He knows how people view him and he knows he’s got the experience to back it up a little bit, which he didn’t have before last postseason.”
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There was a sense of pride in Schneider’s voice talking about Guerrero, whom he’s managed since Vladdy was a teenager. He marveled at how, even on the Dominican Republic’s stacked WBC roster, Guerrero was the focal point. Even a room full of stars felt Guerrero’s gravity.
Everyone around Guerrero has felt this. It’s almost been their job to say these things for Guerrero over the years, but it feels like those days have passed us and given way to a new era of his career.
“My confidence is at another level,” Guerrero said through interpreter Hector LeBron, “especially now that I know I’m going to be home here for a lot of years. Not just myself, but my family. When you see your family happy and comfortable, your confidence level goes way up.”
Any path that leads back to the World Series will be led by Guerrero, a star about to enter his prime. This is his city and his franchise. It’s starting to feel like his season, too.